Re: Time for a complaint to Ofcom
It's really frustrating - they should not charge for SMS - it doesn't cost them anything at all to convey (it's an otherwise wasted part of the phone to base handshaking protocol).
The UK has always been the second most expensive place in the world to make a phonecall or convey data (I'll leave it a an exercise for the reader to identify the most expensive). There's no reason for this except sheer profiteering.
A reasonable way of charging would be a monthly "connection" charge of (maybe) £5 - 10. There should be no charges for calls, SMS or data. These cost the companies virtually nothing to connect and convey.
I think that it's time for one network in the UK to change their charging model, and charge realistically. The rest of the phone companies would fall into line very quickly, as they'd rapidly lose all their business if they didn't.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
